AN earthquake in a sparsely populated region of southwest China has killed one person, injured hundreds and flattened more than 10,000 houses, an official and state media say. A government relief official in Yao'an county, a mountainous area of picturesque Yunnan province where the quake hit, told AFP that one person had died and 328 were injured.

The US Geological Survey said the moderate 5.7-magnitude quake struck at 7.19pm local time on Thursday at a shallow depth of 10km in Yunnan province.

The quake was centred 98km east-northeast of the city of Dali. It was followed by eight aftershocks, driving residents outdoors during the warm night for fear of greater damage, China's Xinhua news agency said.

More than 10,000 houses collapsed and over 30,000 others were damaged in six counties of Yunnan, it said. In a statement, the county government said 75,000 buildings had been damaged. Provincial authorities rushed thousands of tents, quilts and other aid supplies to the relief agency headquarters in Yao'an county. More than 600 police officers were sent to the quake zone.

Some 30 people suffered severe injuries and were being treated at a hospital in Yao'an, Xinhua said. The quake came after nearly 87,000 people were left dead or missing when a massive 8.0 magnitude earthquake shook Sichuan province in China's mountainous southwest in May 2008.